Dr. Christine Johnson

As Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) Chancellor, Dr. Christine Johnson is charged with leading a complex district that spans six counties over a 12,300 square mile area. It includes Spokane Falls Community College and Spokane Community College, as well as rural learning centers, Head Start/Early Learning centers and more than 2,300 employees.

Christine serves on the Board of Trustees for Gonzaga University, the Advisory Council for Eastern Washington University, the President’s Advisory Council for Washington State University Medical School and has strong partnerships with Whitworth University and the University of Washington. Christine works closely with public schools and participates in the K-12 Roundtable and was chairperson for the Strategic Visioning Committee of the Washington Association for Community and Technical Colleges.

At the national level, Christine’s service includes the Educational Advisory Council for Viridis, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Community College Survey for Student Engagement, Western Governors University Academic Affairs Council, Presidents’ Advisory Council to The Completion Arch, American Association of Community College’s 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges and 21st Century Initiative – Implementation Team: Community College/K-12 Collaboration for College Readiness.

Christine has built strong business partnerships through her leadership as STEM Co-Chair for Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI), as a member of the Governor’s State of Washington STEM Innovation Alliance, the co-chairperson of AirSpokane.

Prior to joining CCS in 2010, Christine’s career included more than 30 years of teaching, administration, leadership and policy development. Beginning has a high school teacher, she went on to be a high school principal, the executive director of K-12 education for Littleton Public Schools, CO., and was recognized as Colorado Principal of the Year in 1986. She was the director of urban initiatives for the Education Commission of the States and special assistant to the provost at University of Colorado Denver, chief academic officer for Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System and president of Community College of Denver.

Christine earned a doctorate in educational administration and supervision and master’s degree in curriculum administration from the University of Colorado Boulder, and bachelor’s in secondary education from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.